Published Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: ★★★★☆
REVIEW
I won't lie when I say this book was close to five stars until the ending. I love a good horror when it is more atmospheric and eerie than anything paranormal, and this was just that. I loved how it centered around real-life issues with motherhood, womanhood, and feminism. For it being an adult debut from an author who normally writes for a YA audience, I think it definitely was better than what I'd expected. That being said, the ending was massively disappointing, which I'll explain why below.
SYNOPSIS
"The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance.
When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory.
The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come…"
MY THOUGHTS
I love a good cult book. It brings about a sense of paranoia that this book really had a strong sense of. I could feel Maeve's anxiety coming off the page and her actions made sense. In many psychological thrillers such as this, the characters make frustrating decisions that don't really make sense. However, Maeve subverted the unreliable narrator trope which I loved. Instead, she was realistically suspicious rather than coming off as fanatical.
The plot was really well done in my opinion. I loved the pacing of this book and the twists were perfectly executed. I liked the little hints throughout so that, even while I had a suspicion of what was going to happen, I didn't know exactly how it would play out. I also thought the flashbacks were well placed and revealed just enough at the right moments to give you more information without giving away too many. I was actually hooked on this book from start to finish.
I also loved that the main character was childfree, and unwilling to cave to outside forces trying to convince her that a woman's sole job - the one thing that brings them joy and fulfillment - is birthing and raising children. You see, this is a issue that plenty of women have, myself included. Once you reach a certain age, it seems like everyone is obsessed with knowing when you're going to have babies. If you tell them that you don't want kids they immediately start trying to convince you how rewarding children are and how you won't ever know real love until you hold a baby of your own. None of that is helpful and it is very belittling to think that you know better than someone else what to do with their life.
I think it touched on some actual issues that modern feminism has. It isn't as inclusive as it tries to be. It leaves out huge chunks of people in order to propel others. That is not feminism in my opinion. In this book, men are completely seen as worthless. Childless women, women who've had abortions, nonbinary individuals, and trans people are also left out of the cult. It claimed to be "the most inclusive organization in the world", yet Maeve rightly pointed out that inclusivity is not righteous. The fact that so many people actually buy into some of the ideas presented in this book is what puts it in the horror section. Horror doesn't need to be in your face, bloody, gore, or serial killers. More books need to approach the genre with subtlety.
Please stop reading if you don't want spoilers!!!
This is where I start having issues. I connected so hard with this character that I thought the ending did a huge disservice to her. For someone who staunchly did not want children, who repeatedly told everyone around her trying to change her mind that no, motherhood was not for her. She didn't even want to give her eggs up to her cousin, she was that against bringing a child into the world. Even once she did get pregnant, she asked for an abortion, mistaking the date of conception. What was that ending?
Maeve completely changed her mind. I loved the red herring ending where she told the adoptive mother that she had changed her mind and wanted to keep the babies. Sure, that made me a bit upset as well because who just changes their mind like that? But no, she used that to trap Andrea. I thought that was brilliant. But the actual ending made me so much more upset than that. She got married and on the very last page we find out she is, in fact, pregnant! What a disservice to her character. It literally betrayed everything Maeve stood for in the entire book. I did like that the Motherhood cult wasn't dead, but why didn't it stop there? It made it seem like if you find the right man you will change your mind and everyone wants a baby in the end. Woooow. If I had a dollar for every time I was told I'd "change my mind" once I get married I would literally be a millionaire by now.
This isn't even one of the endings where I understand why that had to be there. Maeve just swept her trauma under the rug, threw her beliefs out the window, and decided that yes, now that she had a loving partner that she now wants children? I mean, sure, some women very much do change their mind. But there are way too many books with that in there. Once, just once, I'd love a childfree character who remains childfree. I don't think it's too much to ask but I guess every author disagrees with me.
This was by no means a bad book. I just thought the ending was not five-star worthy.
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